


have you been too much on your own

by euphrasiepontmercy



Category: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV)
Genre: Gen, finally living up to my username, justice for i saw him once, let's just pretend i posted this before george got fired mmmmmmkay, victoria "hopeless romantic" clarke, zoey "i'm so freakin done with this" clarke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:15:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29034498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/euphrasiepontmercy/pseuds/euphrasiepontmercy
Summary: an au of chapter two of singin' from a streetlight, simply because i was thinkin about les mis (as you do) and thought this would be hilarious
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	have you been too much on your own

**Author's Note:**

> cosette rights

Either Victoria was perfect for SPRQpoint, or SPRQpoint was perfect for Victoria; which of the two it was, Zoey wasn’t sure, but the general sentiment had been made abundantly clear even from the first few minutes. So far in the tour, she seemed to fit into the atmosphere like a missing puzzle piece, and Zoey was in awe of how quickly she grew to like everyone on the fourth floor.

Well, everyone she’d already met, that is.

Tobin was the first they’d come across, a fact that had made Zoey’s anxiety skyrocket for a few brief seconds. Surprisingly, though, no misogynistic jokes or off-color remarks came, and she watched while their wits matched easily as if they’d been friends their whole lives. Something behind Tobin’s eyes had seemed to be coming to a realization, and he’d glanced at the bullpen before looking back at Victoria and smiling. Zoey, puzzled, mentally filed this away as something she’d attempt to figure out later.

Simon was next, and Zoey was rather nervous considering all she’d already confided in her cousin about their past, but the introduction went well; he was as charming and genuine as ever. After the women had continued on their way through the fourth floor, Victoria had turned to Zoey with raised eyebrows and nodded approvingly, earning a laugh.

The younger woman had seemed almost intimidated when she met the new programmers, immediately sensing a vibe that jumpstarted her admiration of them. Upon shaking McKenzie’s hand, Victoria’s posture had straightened, and the coder had smiled at Zoey over the girl’s shoulder.

She’d immediately clicked with George, too, just as Zoey predicted. Since her early childhood, Victoria’s parents had kept her so focused on her music training that she’d barely had time to make real friends her own age, so she absolutely knew how it felt to be out of the loop and was overjoyed to find a kindred spirit in that regard.

On the fourth floor, there were now only a few people left for her to meet, including one that Zoey was dreading above all.

Leif had been  _ infuriating  _ lately.

She could barely describe it. For the past few weeks, Zoey had been forced to see him as a  _ person,  _ as someone who was more similar to her than she cared to admit. As his deeper layers continued to reveal themselves, she couldn’t take having to  _ actually think _ about it along with everything else she was dealing with, so she hoped that her cousin wouldn’t take any interest in him.

Zoey was lost in these thoughts as she circled the fourth floor, carrying a small cup of frozen yogurt. Victoria was walking next to her, engrossed in an animated conversation with George until he was called away and she turned back to her cousin.

“Everyone is so interesting so far, I can’t wait to get to know them.”

Zoey nodded curtly, staring straight ahead. Looking down at her, Victoria noticed that something was tight in her expression.

“Is there anyone else left to meet?”

She nodded again, tight-lipped, and made a sharp turn to lead the younger woman toward the bullpen and the (thankfully  _ only _ at this point) standing desk. Her mind was so filled that she almost didn’t notice the sounds of an orchestra building behind them; it gradually grew louder and faster, and Zoey barely processed it, considering that it fit so well with her current anxiety.

Victoria was working on swirling together a perfect bite of her frozen yogurt creation.

The tempo quickened, almost in perfect time with the classical piece that the pianist had been tapping out on her froyo cup.

Leif’s head was buried in his laptop, and the reflection in his blue light glasses confirmed a particularly difficult section of code.

Zoey grimaced as she made her way toward him, unnoticed.

The strings kept growing, speeding up, building,  _ building- _

-into a sudden release.

Leif had accidentally collided with the younger cousin first, and she’d almost dropped her frozen yogurt. They were frozen in the middle of the bullpen as a soft rush of descending scales flooded Zoey’s conscience.

_ “I didn’t see you there, forgive me.” _

“...And why did you feel the need to sing that?”

Knowing that she hadn’t been heard, Zoey’s eyes widened incredulously as she cautiously approached the scene that almost could have been a tableaux; after Leif sang his line, they had awkwardly helped each other up and begun a conversation. Zoey tried desperately to hear what was being said, but there had seemed to be a skip in the instrumental, causing any real-life dialogue to be completely drowned out by sweeping violins.

_ This can’t be happening. _

_ This can’t possibly be happening. _

She watched helplessly as they talked for what felt like far too long before Leif went back to his desk and Victoria started making her way to the elevator in a daze. Zoey reluctantly followed her, sensing that the upcoming song was hers.

There was a lift and a pause in the instrumental, and the younger woman turned gracefully, having been fully brought into the realm of the musical number. Zoey held her breath, desperately hoping that the song wouldn’t be what she thought.

_ “I saw him once, then he was gone.” _

_...Oh, God. _

_ “We were like dreamers at night who meet, as in a trance, then part again; two phantoms in the shadows of the moon.” _

“Except you really weren’t, though.”

Zoey attempted to move in front of her cousin and interrupt the heartsong, but Victoria only smiled and looked down at her, singing to her directly.

_ “Can people really fall in love so soon?” _

“No! They can’t! You literally just met!”

Seeming not to hear her, Victoria took her cousin’s arm and continued toward the elevator, and Zoey exasperatedly trailed behind her.

_ “He walked alone, he seemed alone like me.” _

She let go and moved further into the light that streamed through the windows, her voice floating above the strings, and Zoey buried her face in her hands.

_ “Could he have known that moment was my destiny?” _

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

_ “I had to run away, and it was like a dream.” _

The younger woman’s face softened as she looked toward the standing desk, and Zoey was caught off guard by the emotion it held. This was quickly moving to the top of the list of cheesiest heartsongs she’d heard, and the situation seemed utterly absurd on paper, but it was somehow just as vulnerable and honest as anything else.

Zoey wasn’t sure whether to roll her eyes or simply stare in pity. Her cousin had always been a hopeless romantic, but she’d never become this far gone so quickly.

_ “I saw him once, the dream was true.” _

Victoria slowly stepped backwards into the open elevator, and Zoey trudged across the floor to follow her, studying her face for just  _ how  _ and  _ why _ and  _ dear God, why _ she’d gotten into this state.

_ “I saw him once, and once will do.” _

The elevator closed on the two women as the song ended with an almost  _ sickening  _ amount of instrumental yearning, and the doors came together on exactly the final beat. A few moments of empty silence passed, and Zoey blinked, completely unsure of how to breach the subject of the incredibly awkward information she’d just learned. Slowly, she turned her head and looked up at her cousin.

It took quite a few seconds for the taller woman to notice her gaze. When she did, she shook her head as if trying to understand, her eyes as annoyingly wonderstruck as a Disney princess. Slowly but surely, though, Victoria brought herself out of her trance, and her face went through a million emotions at once as she recognized the source of her cousin’s concern.

She tried to explain herself, her eyes darting as she stammered. Eventually realizing that she’d been rendered speechless, she sighed and could only manage two words.

“Oh, f-”

**Author's Note:**

> *guitar chord*
> 
> #mtgformarius2k21
> 
> honestly I just hope yall enjoyed that-I'm trying to think of genuinely good things to write (shameless plug-please go read my ftr fic) and I'll try to think of how to fit tori into s2 canon as the show goes on (tbh the fomo that i get about this show is kinda terrifying because I've relied on this idea so deeply that idk what I'll do if I wake up to find there's some other character on the show of my demographic and I easily could have been there and auditioned but wasn't for any reason-aaaaaaaaaanyway hope yall enjoyed)


End file.
